He had to admit he'd been more than a little surprised to get the text. Maia had wanted nothing to do with him for ages now, so even a hello from her was enough to throw him off. Jordan replied quickly, and she explained that her computer was acting up and if he wouldn't mind taking a look at it, she'd greatly appreciate it.
'No problem,' Jordan texted back. 'That's what friends are for right?'
All he got back was a thanks and times when she'd be home later that day if he wanted to look at it right away. Jordan answered texted he'd be over, and the conversation ended. He had to admit he wasn't too sure what to expect when he arrived. He knocked twice before she opened the door.
"Thanks again," Maia said awkwardly as she let him in.
"Let's see the patient," Jordan said, and Maia directed him to the laptop sitting on her dining room table. Jordan sat down and began investigating, checking the hard drive as Maia explained the problem.
"It's been getting worse," Maia explained. "It's so slow now, sometimes I don't even want to bother using it."
As Jordan was poking around the bios, he found the problem. "You have malware on here," Jordan said. "Very sneaky malware that is very well hidden. Like really well hidden. I can't even tell what it's purpose is without activating it."
"What will happen if you activate it?" Maia asked.
"Whatever the malware's final command is," Jordan explained. He turned to face her. "Is there anything on here you can't lose?"
"It's all saved to the cloud," Maia explained. "But isn't it like counter-productive to activate the thing causing the problem?"
"Not really," Jordan explained. "See, if I choose when it activates I can gain more control over it. Otherwise it will just suddenly go off when you aren't prepared."
"Huh," Maia smiled. "I guess that makes sense."
"I'll activate it in a viral machine so I can isolate it a little more," Jordan continued. "Depending on what kind of malware it is, this may or may not make a difference. You sure you don't need any files saved before I do this?"
"Can the malware effect things I have saved in the cloud?" Maia asked. "Like google docs?"
"No," Jordan replied. "But to be sure I'll clear the cookies from your internet browser, which will log you out of everything."
"Alright," Maia said taking a deep breath. "Let's just hope I haven't forgotten any of my passwords."
"Ah yes, best to back those up somewhere offline," Jordan smiled. "If not in your brain."
"Hey my brain is full of lots of more important stuff," Maia laughed.
"There is enough memory space in the brain to store more than one life times worth of experience," Jordan told her. "You aren't gonna run out of room before you run out of years."
"Oh hush," Maia chuckled. "You are ruining all my excuses." She gestured to the computer and added, "Just do the thing already."
With a slight nod, Jordan did as he was told and activated the malware. Almost at once a blinking error message appeared on the screen, shutting everything else down. Jordan couldn't even open the start menu. The message read:
'Your Personal Files Have Been Encrypted.
If you wish to restore your data you will need to pay 4 coin. Your data will be lost if you power down, reset, or in any way try to stop this code. If left unpaid for more than three days all your files will be destroyed.'
"Oh boy," Jordan gasped. "You've got a bad one."
"The whole computer's toast isn't it?" Maia whined. "Maybe I'll just smash it to bits." Jordan started trying to learn more about the code behind this as Maia kept talking. "It would be oddly satisfying, throwing the whole thing against a rock or something."
"Don't go breaking it yet," Jordan replied.
"I don't even have one coin," Maia reminded him. "Let alone 4, and isn't the exchange rate for coin to normal money like crazy high. Like one coin is thousands of dollars?"
"I think this malware is really old," Jordan explained. "Like before coin was so valuable. Because yes you are right 4 coin is over 40,000 dollars today. No one would pay that much to get their data back. The highest I've ever seen this malware go is about 5k."
"Does really old help us?" Maia asked.
"Probably not," Jordan replied. "Usually with this kind of malware there isn't anything that can be done to get the data back, but you can always wipe the hard drive, and reinstall your operating system. You will still lose all your data. but not the computer."
"That would be great. Thanks," Maia replied. His eyes hadn't left the computer once while he'd been talking, but now he turned to face her. He saw joy in her eyes, but even as he looked it vanished, being replaced with something else he couldn't identify. Then she turned away from him.
"You are quite the mystery Maia Roberts," Jordan smiled at her, ignoring the computer for the moment.
"How so?" Maia asked, once again looking at him.
"Say one thing," Jordan replied. "Do another. Act one way, then change again." He paused then, voicing what he hadn't expected to say, but had nevertheless been wondering for a while. "Sometimes it makes me wonder what it was we had in the first place?"
"Dammit," Maia grumbled. "I hate it when Simon's right."
"What?" Jordan asked, turning.
"He said you were thinking stuff like that," Maia muttered, looking down as if embarrassed. "But listen, it's not like that. Don't think like that, okay?"
"Ah making as much sense as usual, I see," Jordan smiled. He turned back to his task. Computers made far more sense than women, that was for sure.
Jordan worked in silence for a while. First looking up the exploit on his phone, then applying it to the code. It worked rather better than he'd expected, though it took quite a while. Maia didn't speak once while he typed, but somehow Jordan could sense the wheels in her head turning. More than once he thought she was going to say something, but she never did.
"There," Jordan said, pushing away from the table. "It just needs to reboot and restore. Might take a few hours though. Best to plug it in."
Wordlessly, Maia handed him the charging cable and Jordan connected the laptop to power. Then he turned to her, unsure if just goodbye was proper, or if he should shake her hand or something. There was a strange awkwardness in the air that hadn't been there when he'd first arrived.
"I guess I should be going then," Jordan said standing up, still a little confused by her silence.
"I'm such a coward," Maia whispered finally. "I've been standing here watching you work the last hour trying to come up with the courage to tell you what I owe you."
"You don't owe me anything Maia," Jordan told her kindly. "Well, unless you have me to charge for computer repairs." He chuckled, but she was in no way laughing. He's never seen her so intense before.
"I owe you everything," Maia whispered so softly, Jordan wasn't even sure he'd heard her correctly. When she spoke again, it was in a clear determined, almost practiced voice.
"I've always thought of myself as independent," Maia began. "And needing another person seemed like a weakness to me. I think this is why I've always held you at arms length, even when we were actually together." She took a deep breath, before starting again. "Then after we split… well I guess, maybe on some level I thought you'd always be there. I took your continued affection towards me for granted. It was naive and foolish to think that I could reject you so many times while still keeping the idea of us open if I ever changed my mind."
"You deserve better than to spend your life waiting for me," Maia said. "For anyone."
Jordan didn't know what to say. His mind was blank, stunned into silence.
"Over the last year I've watched my friends fall in love," Maia continued. "And be all the stronger for it. I've learned there is a bravery in giving your heart to another. A boldness in letting that power slip through your fingers into someone else grasp. In this context, I might be a coward, but you Jordan, you are the bravest man I've ever known."
She paused then spoke in a clear even voice. "And I love you for it."
Jordan was sure she was still talking, but he couldn't process anything past those few words. Maia loved him? Had loved him all this time, even if she hadn't admitted it, maybe even to herself. A strange numbing awe had him paralyzed.
"I don't expect anything," Maia was saying. "I just- I owed you an explanation. After so many lies, most of them mine, I owed you the truth. When I say I love you, it means I value your happiness. It means you come first. So yeah I miss you, but most of all, I want you to be happy and Paige makes you happy." She turned away from him as if to go hide in her room. "Anyway, thanks for the help. I'll go now. You can let yourself out."
Jordan was instantly panicking. She was leaving? After that. No. Reaching out without thinking, Jordan touched her arm and she stopped, turning to face him.
Maia loved him. Maia within reach. Maia… here… now.
He pulled her closer, almost as if against his will. She was mere inches from him now, looking up at him with those beautiful brown eyes he loved.
And it was like the world stood still. Without forming a single thought, Jordan reacted. His lips pressed against hers in heated need, and he felt her respond in kind. This was their spark, the ever lit flame waiting for something to burn. Jordan wasn't totally sure what was happening anymore, but he knew his shirt was on the ground and his hands were holding tight to Maia's bare hips. They were both moving with equal vigor, both panting slightly, arms wrapped around each other. Jordan felt her hands at his belt just as his fingers dipped down below the elastic of her comfortable stretch pants. He heard her gasp and moan as his fingers explored her sensitive skin. Maia parted her legs slightly, her head tilting back.
Maia. Maia in his arms again. It was like he was high, flying even as he fell into the dining room chair. Somehow she'd managed to undo his pants, freeing his hard erection from it's confinement. When she straddled him, her pants around her ankles, Jordan felt himself enter her. His whole body shivered. Then his arms wrapped around her, holding her weight as he stood up. Maia's lips were locked with his. Jordan moved forward until he reached the wall, pressing Maia's back against it. Her legs were still wrapped around his hips, but now she was moving, grinding her hips into his. The wall holding up most of her weight, Jordan's hands moved over her breasts, teasing her skin. Jordan was panting, his mind blank as he thrust deep inside her.
They finished together. He felt her body tense, her back arching as her muscles squeezing him into his own release. Panting she rested her head on his shoulder, and for a moment Jordan held her, content. All that existed in the world at that moment was their breathing.
Then his brain turned back on.
What had he done? What had they just done? Did this woman have such control over him that she could bring him to cheat on someone like Paige? Someone so good, so kind and trusting. It seemed she did.
Gently he set Maia down. She was naked from top to bottom, and Jordan's eyes roamed before he remembered they shouldn't be. Or was it too late? Hadn't he ruined everything already… what was the point in trying to be good now?
But no. He hadn't been thinking, and Maia was right. She'd waited too long; it was over. She'd just confessed to being too cowardly to show she loved him for their entire relationship, so why should he take her back? They'd been broken up for years. This was just a mistake. Just a rekindling of a spark that was stubbornly refusing to die against all the odds. It didn't mean they'd ever be able to be in a healthy and functional relationship. And he had a healthy and functional relationship with Paige. This one moments stupidity wasn't worth losing that.
Quickly picking up his pants from around his ankles, Jordan grabbed his shirt, pulled it over his head and was doing up his belt as he headed for the door.
So... I've been planning this for a while. *Hides a little behind a wall before asking tentatively...* How mad are you guys?
Sneak Peek Chapter 132
Maia stuffed the rather large box into her purse and turned to leave. Then she stopped cold as she recognized someone she knew. Panicking, Maia turned and ducked into an aisle, hoping he hadn't seen her.
"Oh hey Maia!"
Her hope died quickly as she heard his voice call after her. Plastering a smile on her face, Maia turned to face him.
"I thought that was you," he said, with a genuine smile, unlike the fake mess on her face.
"You caught me," Maia said trying to keep her voice light.
"If I didn't know better I'd say you were hiding from me," he replied, still teasing her.
"But you know better than that," Maia teased back, trying to keep things normal.
"Of course, boss," he laughed. "I know you are definitely hiding from someone. It just can't possibly be me since I'm awesome." Maia couldn't help laughing.